Key holder



March 4, 1969. R. T. MUCKLESTON 3,430,470

KEY HOLDER Filed March 27, 1967 INVENTQR. RON/4L0 7: Ml/C/(LES TOIV A TTORNE) United States Patent 3,430,470 KEY HOLDER Ronald T. Muckleston, P.O. Box 689, Bakersfield, Calif. 93302 Filed Mar. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 626,287 US. Cl. 70-459 Int. Cl. A44b 15/00 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE so the link may hook onto the hook after release of the pressure on the ring ends and, thereby, close the gap.

Background of the invention When keys are removed from or connected to key rings or holders, rnuch fumbling is frequently entailed. Also, holders of the open-ring type, unless the ends of the ring are retained closed and resist accidental separation of said ring ends, may allow accidental loss of a key or keys. A search conducted on a key holder having the above characteristics turned up the following prior United States patents: 2,049,610, Guidry, Aug. 4, 1936; 2,084,- 260, Schupbach, June 15, 1937; 2,241,358, Schupbach, May 6, 1941; 2,620,650, Cotti, Dec. 9, 1952.

Patent No. 2,049,610 discloses a round-sectioned, open wire ring with an inturned eye at one end and an inturned hook on the other. The ends can be abutted and diagonal pressure applied to the ring to cause relative opposite sliding movement of said ends so a link pivotally carried by the eye can be released from engagement with the hook. It is contemplated that this pressure would be manually applied, but the same could be effected inadvertently in the pocket or in a handbag, thus allowing the link to swing open accidentally.

Patent No. 2,084,260 shows an inturned hook and a gap-closing member that is mounted on a pivot pin and swings inward to open the gap.

Patent No. 2,241,358 shows a square-sectioned, open ring and a hinged closure member on one end that has snap-retention with the other end to close the gap in the ring. Said member swings inwardly to open.

Patent No. 2,620,650 has an open ring with a gapclosing bridge that swings laterally to open and close the gap.

The three patents that have inwardly pivoted gapclosing links can open accidentally, since there is nothing on the inside of the ring to prevent such undesired opening of the gap in the event of accidental external pressure in an inward direction on the link.

Summary of the invention The present key holder comprises, generally, a ring 5 of resilient metal of a sectional form and thickness to resist accidental deformation, said ring having an opening or gap 6, an eye 7 on one end of the ring at one side of said gap, a hook 8 on the other end of the ring at the opposite side of said gap, and a link 9 swingably connected to said eye for separable connection with said hook to span across and close said gap.

This invention also has for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description, which is based on the accompanying drawing. However, said drawing merely shows, and the following description merely describes, one embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the key holder in operative key-holding condition.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged and broken top view of the key holder as in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a similarly enlarged and broken side view of the portion of the holder that is shown in FIG. 2, the same being in open condition.

Description of the preferred embodiment The ring 5 is formed of stainless steel or plated steel, the same, as shown, having a rectangular cross-sectional form with the inner and outer cylindrical faces 10 and 11 being substantially wider than the opposite edge faces 12, the faces 10 and 11 being approximately three to four times wider than the thickness represented by the faces 12, thereby providing a ring that has little or no resiliency or pliability except in the plane of the ring so the gap 6 may be decreased by pressure applied to the opposite side of the ring.

The eye 7 is formed by an outwardly curled end 13, the same defining a closed, generally circular passage 14. The hook 8 comprises an outwardly bent bight 15 from which a tab 16 extends in a direction opposite to the eye 7, the end face 17 of said tab being half-round, substantially as shown.

The link 9 is preferably formed of wire and has the shape of a closed loop comprising opposite arms 18 that at one end are connected by a cross pin 19 pivotally engaged in the passage 14 of the eye 7, and at their opposite end are connected by a concavely rounded portion 20 that is of sufficient transverse size to fit the bight 15 beneath the tab 16. Said arms 18 converge toward the rounded portion 20 so the transverse size of said portion provides a small amount of lateral clearance with the ring at the bight 15 when the ring is contracted.

Normally, as shown in FIG. 3, the ring is so bent and tensioned that the gap 6 is smaller than the bridging extent of the arms 18 and portion 20 of the link 9. When pressure is applied to the opposite sides of the ring, as shown by the arrows 21, the gap may be reduced so the rounded face 17 of said tab will fieely fit within the link portion 20, allowing the tab to slip through the concavity of said portion 20, the latter becoming engaged with the bight 15 to retain the ring in closed and tensioned condition, as shown in FIG. 1.

It will be noted from FIG. 2 that, while the bight 15 is defined by a straight transverse portion of the ring 5, the end portion 20 of the link 9 is concavely rounded. These portions are so proportioned that the concave side of the portion 20, rather than nesting in the bight 15, has contact, at 22, with the corner edges of the bight when the ring 5 is under expansion, thereby effecting a wedging engagement between these portions that imposes a spreading force on the rounded end 16 of the link. As a result, the separable connection between the hook 8 and the link 9 resists torsional displacement such as may tend to cause the ring ends to become offset. The tab 16 fully overlies the link portion 20 to insure retention of the connection against inadvertent contraction of the ring.

With the link 9 swung open, it is a simple matter to string keys K over the hook 8 onto the ring, and it is as easy to remove keys from the ring. When the link 9 is connected to the hook 8, as hereinbefore described, the keys on the ring are safely held in place. This safety is enhanced by the fact that the link cannot swing inwardly to open the gap, regardless what forces are accidentally imposed on the ring, nor will the tab 16 permit the link to swing outwardly, except under abnormal forces. In the event that the latter should occur, as in a pocket or handbag, the link would ordinarily be kept closed, as in FIG. 3, by surrounding portions of such pocket or handbag.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what is now contemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is not desired to restrict the invention to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A key holder comprising:

(a) an open ring of resilient metal of a rectangular cross-sectional form and in which the width across the plane of the ring is approximately three to four times greater than the thickness thereof,

(b) one end of said ring being provided with an outwardly extending eye, the opposite end with an outwardly extending hook open in the direction away from the eye, the hook forming a bight across the width of the ring and from which a tab extends outwardly in spaced relation to the ring, and the eye and hook being spaced to form a gap, and

(c) a wire link formed as a closed elongated loop with one end thereof formed as a straight cross pin and pivotally engaged in said eye and the opposite end of the link being outwardly rounded and adapted to separably engage with the hook with the link spanning across the gap,

(d) the length of the link being such that when so connecting the ends of the ring, the latter is contracted to reduce the size of the gap and place the ring under tension forces tending to increase the size of the gap,

(e) the opposite edges of the bight, when the link is engaged with the hook, being in contact with inner spaced points of the outwardly rounded end of the link when the ring is under expansion to, thereby, effect a wedging engagement between said bight edges and said transversely spaced points of the link.

2. A key holder according to claim 1 in which the outer end of the tab is rounded and the length of the tab is such that said round end of the tab overstands the round end of the link, the link being provided with side 20 arms connecting the cross pin and the rounded end thereof, said arms converging toward said rounded end and having clearance with the bight when the link is being pivotally moved to and from connection with the mentioned hook.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,049,610 8/ 1936 Guidry -459 FOREIGN PATENTS 300,549 9/ 1917 Germany.

12,443 1895 Great Britain. 19,238 1912 Great Britain.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

5 P. TEITELBAUM, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

